Child's hunger pushes Coats church into action

But the little boy with tears in his eyes and an achingly empty stomach pushed good intentions into actions at Coats United Methodist Church.

A year later, His Daily Bread Community Soup Kitchen offers food and fellowship every Thursday evening to hundreds of the hungry across Harnett County.

Volunteers from a dozen churches turn the church's fellowship hall into a place where folks in need can find a hot meal and hope. Unlike many food banks and care centers, there is no paperwork requirement beyond letting volunteers know who you are.

"If someone walks through that door, we're here to feed them," said volunteer Gale Penny. "It's not up to us to judge. Our goal is to make sure people are fed."

Several members of the church had been part of a homeless and hungry ministry in Raleigh and had discussed starting a similar project in Harnett County.

Then last year, church members spotted a little boy crying during a midweek Bible study.

"He was so hungry," Penny said. "He had no food at home. For all our talk about organizing some sort of food project, we hadn't had the spark to get things going.

"After we met that child, I called some people and said, 'It's time we got going.'''

Last November, the kitchen opened. Now, as many as 125 people drop in on Thursdays to eat, share their stories and, as outreach volunteer Shirley Allen said, "just forget their problems for a while."

Donations from the community and several area churches provide the food. Churches and students from nearby Campbell University provide the manpower. Volunteers travel weekly to a food bank in Raleigh for meat, and breads are donated by local businesses.

"It's all done by donation," said Vanessa Amick. Like many volunteers, she attends another church, but regularly helps out at Coats United Methodist in the food pantry. While clients eat, the food pantry fills bags for the hungry to take home.

"This isn't a church thing, it's a God thing," she said. "And it's amazing how God answers the needs. When things start running low, someone will show up with a donation and we're ready to go again."

In time, Penny said, the ministry hopes to offer classes in life skills, helping clients find employment.

"Right now, we're feeding everyone we can," she said. "But we want to do more. It's like giving a man a fish and teaching him to fish.

"The needs are so huge, so heartbreaking. People think this is a big-city problem, but it's everywhere."

Amick agreed.

"The pain isn't just in the belly," she said. "It's in the heart. Once you realize how serious the needs are and that you can do something to help ... how could you do otherwise?"

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